Russia’s Foreign Ministry wants Britain to provide information about the pets that lived in the house of the Russian former spy who was poisoned with nerve agent in England a month ago.
Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Wednesday that Russia has reliable information that there were pets in the Salisbury residence of Sergei Skripal.
“Where are the pets? What is their condition?” she said. “This is about living creatures, and if a toxic chemical agent was indeed used in their house, these living creatures should have been hurt.”
It is not clear where Skripal and his daughter were exposed to the poison, which Britain has identified as a nerve agent of the Novichok class. Novichok was developed as a chemical weapon in the Soviet Union, and Britain has alleged Russia was involved in the poisoning.
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Meanwhile, Britain says Russia’s proposal for a joint investigation of the nerve-agent poisoning of a Russian former spy and his daughter got only six votes at a special session of the executive council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
Russia requested the Wednesday session in The Hague, Netherlands, to push its vehement denials of Britain’s allegation that Russia was involved in the March 4 poisonings in England. There are 41 countries on the OPCW’s executive council.
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The British government has invited experts from the international chemical weapons watchdog to help investigate the March 4 poisonings of Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson called Russia’s bid to take part “ludicrous.”
Johnson said: “The purpose of Russia’s ludicrous proposal at The Hague was clear — – to undermine the independent, impartial work of the international chemical weapons watchdog.” British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said in a statement. ”
“Russia has had one goal in mind since the attempted murders on U.K. soil through the use of a military-grade chemical weapon: to obscure the truth and confuse the public.”